I will confess to having used “man up” many times, though I was generally intending a message of “be tough” rather than trying to police gender roles. (I said it to my daughters more often than to my sons, for one thing.) We switched to “cowboy/cowgirl up” a couple years back.

The prevalence of the gender-cop version, however – particularly in the somewhat more odious “sack up” variant – really makes me wonder. What’s the most obvious difference between men and women? Our genitals. The male genital system, while attractive and functional, is also incredibly vulnerable, easy to damage, and absolutely cringes from the very thought of pain. The female genital system, similarly aesthetic and getting the job done, is extremely tough and can routinely pass watermelon-sized objects through a grape-sized aperture.

Seems like “cunt up” would be what you’d say if you wanted to express “quit being such a crybaby, rub some dirt on it, and get back out there”. Yet despite the logic of this position, it was ME who was asked to leave the T-ball game. I tell ya, parents today.

The male genital system, while attractive and functional, is also incredibly vulnerable, easy to damage, and absolutely cringes from the very thought of pain.
And considering how “man up” is used as a way to face the pain and toughen up it doesn’t surprise that this description you give fits the use of the phrase. Yes it might hurt yes it might suck yes you might be in pain but a “real man” wouldn’t be phazed by that and would complete the task at hand. Oh and do it without complaining.

Yes it might hurt yes it might suck yes you might be in pain but a “real man” wouldn’t be phazed by that and would complete the task at hand. Oh and do it without complaining.

I know what you mean and there’s a certain justice to it, but I really hate the “real men don’t complain” trope. It’s very hard to figure out what’s wrong with someone who refuses to complain no matter what and a man who doesn’t complain about, say, his chest pain can end up dying of it. It’s good to take responsibility and not over dramatize your situation (though what that has to do with gender, I don’t know), but remember that pain is there to prevent you from taking damage. Pay it proper attention and respect.

Not to mention that the whole “real men don’t complain” idea plays into the extremely problematic and problem-causing “men are only supposed to feel and express anger and aggression” narrative, where if you don’t feel and express enough anger and aggression, you’re a [insert homophobic, misogynist epithet here], and if you feel or express any other emotion, you’re also a [IHMEH].

I have the general impression that the commercials suck, but I can’t cite any specific dialog, etc. from them. When the commercials come on it’s time to go get a beer, not watch someone else talk about beer. Whether it’s truck commercials or beer commercials I’m not a fan of “if you don’t own a truck you’re not a man.” although with a truck commercial it makes sense that you want to highlight how tough the truck is. I know plenty of guys who own trucks because they need them in their work, not because they want to look studly on the road.

I’ve used the phrase a few times, but the context has been “O.K., it’s going to be physical/dirty/wet/difficult/unpleasant/etc. but it’s got to be done so let’s shut up, get down to it and get it over with.” Not something I’ve had occasion to use in mixed company, as generally the women of my family or acquaintance are not involved in such tasks. And before you ask, no, not with the Scouts. I think linking it to sexual assault is a bit of a stretch.

Not sure what genitalia have to do with this. There’s more to being a man than having a penis and it seems to me that it’s a pretty basic feminist tenet that being a women is far more than just having a vagina.

Light “beer” really sucks. Maybe that’s why the commercials tend to be hyper-macho. Me, I’m a dark lager or ale man. I’ll go for a few Guiness on occasion, but there’s a price for me (and anyone near me) to pay the next day.

Dianne:It’s very hard to figure out what’s wrong with someone who refuses to complain no matter what and a man who doesn’t complain about, say, his chest pain can end up dying of it.
Yes it is hard to see what’s wrong with someone who refuses to complain or, for a lighter word, talk about it.

dragon_snap @ February 23, 2012 at 8:22 pm
I can dig that.

I was only responding to the idea that using the phrase “man up” doesn’t make sense when thinking about the male reproductive system or when someone says “the female reproductive system is built tougher so people should say ‘woman up’ instead”. The idea behind “man up” seems to be “don’t talk about your discomfort”. Well if you’re already more resilient and tougher then there isn’t as much room to show your toughness by “not talking about it”.